Of Hearts and Alcohol
by Maximus Artilius
Summary: I'm sure most of you have seen the ending of Fallout: New Vegas, and I'm sure many of you have seen that in the good ending with Cass, she tries to give the Courier a surprise, but it turns out he gave his room to an NCR soldier, but what would have happened if he didn't?


**Hey guys, looks like I'm back to writing this stuff, hit a roadblock with the novel, hopefully will be able to get back on with it soon though.**

**Well anyways, in my spare time I've been playing the great game that is Fallout: New Vegas, I swear the amount of hours I've heaped up on that thing are ridiculous, anyways, I've recently completed it, with a Messiah character siding with the NCR, and I found the part in the ending where Cass bursts into the Courier's room to find he's given it up to a soldier with no barracks, and it got me thinking.**

**What would have happened if the Courier (Or more specifically, MY Courier) had been in the room instead, so this my interpretation on what might of occurred that fateful night. **

**(I have taken a few liberties with the speeches, so give me a break)**

Cass walked away from the NCR Quarter-Master Bardon, several large whiskey bottles clicking in her bag, and a wide smirk on her face. When she had gone down to request the alcohol from the Hoover Dam QM, he had insisted that alcohol on the Dam was contraband due to the closeness of the Legion's forces, but after several choice words, few of which included mentioning the Courier, he had quickly handed over the booze she wanted. She made her way through the many twists and turns in the corridors of Hoover Dam, making her way to the Courier's room. The smirk on her face had not diminished in the slightest, and she knew how she must be looking as NCR soldiers gave her bemused looks as she passed them. She looked down at her hand, and looked at the binding tape that bound two of her fingers together, a small memento of that day's battle. Only a few hours ago, the Courier, herself and ED-E had led the assault on the Legate's Camp, with several members of the Remnants, NCR Veteran Rangers, Great Khans and regular NCR soldiers.

The Courier had left Boone, Veronica, Rex, Raul, and Lily guarding the Dam itself, to which he had gotten several complaints, but he quickly shot them all down with the gleam in his brown eyes. He had led the strike force over the bomb-induced-potholed bridge and up to the Legate's Camp's gates.

"Everyone ready?" He asked the assembled troops, whilst he stood ready by the huge metal doors, his combat armour pockmarked by the Legion's attacks, and his scooped Laser Rifle in his hands.

"You bet ya sir!" A rowdy NCR soldier cried out. Cass rolled her eyes slightly at the trooper's enthusiasm to getting shot and most likely impaled by the Legion soldiers on the other side of the gate. ED-E beeped several times at the Courier, who was probably the only person who could understand him.

"Right, ED-E says there are multiple enemy contacts on the other side, so watch your lines of fire, and prepare for hell." And with that he shot the thick chains on his side of gate, which snapped and let the gate slide open.

_When the Courier had said "Prepare for hell" he really meant it_ Cass thought as she lifted the custom Marksman Carbine the Courier had designed and crafted for her and sent a 5.56mm round through the skull of the praetorian guard by the gate. The guard on the other side of the gate managed to blink before he was turned to ash by a blast from the Courier's gun. He turned, and Cass saw the slight smirk on his face as he looked at her. He then raised his rifle and shot at her. A red beam of deadly light and energy shot past Cass' right cheek and impacted the Legion explorer who was sneaking up on her. It was then that the gathered soldiers rushed through the gate and onwards towards the centre on the Legate's Camp, with ED-E in the fore-front, his laser shooting its now very recognisable blue shots thanks to the assistance of the Followers of the Apocalypse.

"Shall we?" The Courier said, gesturing towards the gunfire and mayhem at the bottom of the short slope. Cass answered with a grin, and then sprinted towards the battle with the Courier at her side.

The battle at the main encampment was short and sweet as the Legionaries had not expected an attack of this magnitude and were quickly overwhelmed.

"Hold the camp, Oliver will be here soon." He called to the small army who cheered in return. The Courier nodded, and then set his way up the slope towards the Legate's Tent. Cass jogged up to him and flashed him one of her rare true smiles.

"We did it then." She told him, slinging her rifle on her back.

"Not yet." The Courier said simply, looking up the path, towards the rocky bluff. Stood there was a man who could only be described as a behemoth. He stood at least a foot and a half taller than the Courier, and the armour he wore did nothing to help disguise his huge build. His armour was unlike the rest of the Legion soldiers Cass had seen, which had seemed to have been mismatched to try and get the best function for that particular class of soldier. The giant's armour actually looked like it had been purposely crafted for the intention of the huge man wearing it. Probably the most intimidating thing about the man was his masked helmet. A wild-haired face, with an imposing sneer was crafted into the metal with slits for the eyes and mouth. Cass saw two Rangers armed with combat knives sneaking up behind the huge man. Quicker than Cass was willing to believe, the behemoth grabbed the huge sword from his back and swung it widely behind him, taking the head off one of the Ranger's in a shower of blood. The other Ranger managed to duck the first blow but then was cleaved in half by the giants second massive over-head blow.

And then as if nothing had happened, he sheathed his sword and turned back towards the two making their way up the stairs.

"Oh…sh*t" Cass muttered, pulling her rifle back off her back. The Courier kept his Laser Rifle in his hands, and stopped a few feet away from Legate Lanius.

"It's over Lanius! The camps fallen, give up now, and I'll make sure you stand a fair trial!" The Courier told him, keeping his Laser Rifle by his hip, aimed at the Monster of The East.

"You really think it's over boy? You have severed only one head of the Hydra, and now two shall spout in revenge, do you not see that there is no hope for the NCR? We have thousands of soldiers ready and waiting at The Fort, you shall not be able to hold this place for much longer, the wrath of Caesar shall fall upon your shoulders and from there the NCR shall fall."

"That's not gonna happen, have you heard from The Fort recently by the way? I wouldn't have thought so." The Courier replied grimly. There was a pause and the air seemed to become frosty.

"What do you mean by that?" The Legate said slowly, emphasising each letter with the hatred and venom in his voice.

"What I mean is that I sincerely doubt that you'll hear anything form "The Fort" again, or from any of the Legion in the Mojave for that matter." The Courier stated, Cass noticing him getting a better grip on his powerful Laser Rifle.

"What have you done?" The Legate demanded, drawing his huge sword and pointing it at the Courier.

"What was needed." The Courier calmly replied.

Cass wondered what the Courier was going on about when she remembered Boone, the Courier, and the NCR Rangers had sneaked off several nights before the battle, and from Lanius' reaction, it was pretty clear what they had been up to. The Legate then swung his huge blade at the "Messiah" of the Mojave Wasteland. The Courier ducked the large arc of the blade and fired off three blasts of Laser Rifle into the main bulk of Lanius' chest, which only seemed to blacken his armour. Lanius kicked his tree trunk sized leg out, impacting the Courier's chest plate, and knocking him down the stairs, off the bluff and out of sight. Cass fired off three rounds at the Legate's helmet and each round impacted with a solidifying _ping_. Lanius gave a short laugh and then swiped the Marksman Carbine out of her hands with a swift blow to her hands, dislocating one of her fingers. Cass then had to jump backwards as the Legate tried to split her open like a tin can. She landed with a crash as the Legate stabbed down with his massive sword. Cass moved her head quickly to the side as the blade dug over two feet into the ground. Cass swung her leg and managed to kick Lanius in the helmet sending him stumbling away, and then a blur crashed into him sending him tumbling down the stairs. Cass sat up and saw that the Courier had reappeared and had tackled Lanius. Both of the warriors arrived at the foot of the slope and squared each other off. Lanius stood tall in his huge amour and clenched his gauntlets which doubled as Power Fists. The Courier pulled his Broad Machete from its sheath and his Bowie Knife from his boot.

"I'm going to crush your body and place your head on our banner!" Legate Lanius told him getting into a fighting stance. The Courier didn't grace him with a response, he just threw his Bowie Knife which pierced the Legates armour and buried itself deep in Lanius' chest. Lanius' stepped back with a grunt, looked down at knife and then chuckled.

"Is that the best you got boy?" Lanius said pointing at the Courier. Again the Courier didn't offer him a reply; he just simply cut off Lanius' offending finger. Lanius cried out in a mixture of anger and pain, and then rushed the Courier, his Power Fist gauntlets brandished. The Courier ducked the hydraulic powered fists, and rolled, slashing with his machete at the back of Lanius' knees, but only managing to dent the armour. Lanius kicked his foot and hit the Courier in the chest sending him sprawling in the dirt. Lanius lunged forward, his huge fists pulled back ready to shatter the Courier's skull into a thousand pieces. Dust flew up into the air around the Lanius' fists, but when it cleared, the Courier's "broken" body was nowhere to be seen.

Cass looked down at the impact crater made by Lanius, and then looked around, looking for her companion. He was nowhere to be seen, and it seemed that Lanius had decided he had vanquished the Enemy No. 1 for the Legion. He roared with victory, his voice shattering the air of the small camp, but after a moment, his voice was cut off and turned into a pained gurgle. Cass looked at him and saw the blade of the Courier's Broad Machete sticking through his back and coming out of his chest. Lanius looked down at the point of the sword, and Cass swore that under his masked helmet, a look of confusion would be on his scarred face. The air behind Lanius shimmered as the Courier switched off the Stealth Boy. The Courier yanked his short sword out of Lanius causing him to fall to his knees. Cass stared at the fall of the man who struck fear into the NCR and even most of the Legion. Lanius fell forward with a crash of metal and defeat, blood already starting to pool around his prone body. Cass walked down the stairs, the Blade of the West dragging from her uninjured hand behind her. She walked up to the Courier who was still standing over the body of the vanquished goliath like figure.

"You did it." Cass said simply, looking at the man who in such a short time had become a legend of the wastes.

"That I did." The Courier replied, stooping down and taking off Lanius' infamous helmet, he examined it.

"Trophy?" Cass inquired looking over his shoulder.

"Memory." The Courier countered, with a small smirk. Cass noticed how close they were, aand she swore her heart rate picked up considerably.

_Snap out of it_ Cass thought as she noticed the slight butterflies in her stomach. _Rose of Sharon Cassidy does not get butterflies_ she reprimanded.

The Courier looked like he was going to say something when several loud beeps, and a trumpeting fanfare broke the silence, and the Courier was taken off his feet by ED-E, who was somewhat affectionately bouncing off the Courier who was laughing from the floor.

"ED-E! Calm down, I'm fine, relax you stupid 'Bot" The Courier told the custom Eyebot. Cass couldn't help but smile at the display, but her attention was then taken by the intimidating man making his way towards them with a vanguard of Veteran NCR Rangers.

"I see you managed to sort out our Legion problem." General Lee Oliver said, looking at the man who was still pinned to the floor by ED-E.

"That I have." The Courier said, managing to push ED-E off and getting to his feet, his combat armour with a fresh set of dents. Oliver smiled and held out his hand to shake.

"You've done us all proud, you're a hero to the NCR, and always will be." He said grandly. The Courier rubbed the back his neck whilst shaking Oliver's hand, obviously uneasy with the compliments.

"Thanks, but it wasn't just me, everyone here is a hero." The Courier said, clearly to Cass that he was trying to get the attention off himself.

"But you brought our allies here, you assured this victory, and it won't be forgotten, now, I think the troops would like to see the Hero of Hoover Dam." Oliver said, wrapping an arm around the Courier's shoulders and taking him towards the gate of the camp. The Courier looked over his shoulder at Cass and ED-E, and Cass saw him shrug in indifference. Cass let a small laugh out, and ED-E beeped a small message to Cass.

Cass stared at the Eyebot for a moment and then shook her head in resignation; she would never understand the small robot, and then she followed the small group back towards the Dam, the floating companion by her side.

Cass entered the corridor lined with the doors where the Courier, herself, and his other companions were going to be staying the night, before they all left to go back to the Lucky 38. Boone walked out of his door, and saw her walking down. A rare smile played across his features as he looked at her.

"What you smirking at?" Cass asked, a little perplexed by the show of emotion form the usually stoic man.

Boone ignored the question, just carried on smirking from the doorway. Cass let out a small sigh, Boone was too complicated to understand. The Courier was probably the only one who had managed to get the lonely sniper to open up. Cass reached into her sack, pulled out a bottle of scotch, and threw it to Boone who caught it with one hand.

"Enjoy yourself." Cass told him as she brushed past him towards the Courier's door at the end of the corridor.

"You too." Came Boone's quiet voice as she stepped in front of the Courier's room. Cass turned to look at him, but found he had already disappeared. _What a weird guy._ Cass thought to herself as she contemplated how to get the Courier to drink with her.

"Ahh, to hell with it." She told herself as she swiftly kicked the door to the Courier's room open.

She half expected the Courier to be asleep on his bed, and to jump out of his skin when she made her entrance. But she was mistaken.

There he was, at the Worktable, making some adjustments to his Laser Rifle, as if he was already ready to go. His near grey hair was starting to get a bit long as it reached his eyes and he realised he'd have to suffer the wrath of Lily's unbelievably swift hands. When he heard the door slam open, he turned around slowly, and leant back against the scarred work surface, and looked at the "Whiskey Rose" with one eyebrow raised.

"What's this?" He asked looking at the cowgirl with a bottle of whiskey in one hand, and a sack which he assumed was filled with similar contents to the bottle.

"Me, you, we're getting drunk." Cass said simply, strutting into his room, closing the door with her foot, and taking a seat on his bed. The Courier let a small grin play across his features, as he thought of her declaration. They had all one through so much, and he had let everyone else go off and defuse in their many different ways. He had let Veronica go flirt with any of the NCR girls that caught her eyes, ED-E and Raul had both gone for a walk together, both discussing their adventures. It had turned out the thanks to Raul's Mechanical skills; he could also understand the Eyebot. Boone had gone to his room to linger, but he had promised the Courier that he would go and visit the 1st Recon soon. Lily had taken Rex to the Legate's Camp, telling the Courier that they were going to look for anything that could be salvaged, and also letting him know that "**When I get back sweetie, be sure to give pup here a good bath, we don't want him getting stinky**" After reviewing all this, the Courier thought, why not? He deserved a break too.

"Sounds good." The Courier said to Cass, setting down his tools. Cass let her eyebrows rise, she had expected more of a fight to get him to drink, but decided not to tempt fate.

"Well this is what I got." She said, pulling out several bottles of Beer, Whiskey, Scotch, Vodka and even a few rare bottles of Wine.

"Nice selection Rose." The Courier said, moving over to look at the alcohol. Cass smiled a little at her real name. The Courier was one of the few people who could get away with calling her that, although he only used it occasionally, knowing she preferred "Cass". The Courier took a bottle of Whiskey, and took a swig.

"I try my best, plus I have a surprise." Cass said dipping her hand back into her magic sack and pulling out a large brown jug, a thick cork blocking the spout, and three large Xs on the side.

"Moonshine? When did you have the chance to make that?" The Courier asked incredulously, the last time they had drunk that was when they had managed to send Jason Bright and his followers on their Great Journey. In the Courier's mind's eye he saw him and Cass sitting in the Launch Centre, a jug of moonshine between them, both their eyes on the disappearing engine flares of the spaceships.

"I've been saving it." Cass explained, uncorking the jug and taking a swig. She passed the jug to the Courier who took it, his and her fingers touching, sending a feeling of static through Cass. _It's the booze_ Cass told herself as she took off her hat and watched the Courier take a big swig of the brown jug. The Courier finished his long drink of Cass' rough alcohol with a sigh.

"It's been a long road Cass, a very long one." He said, his eyes lacking their usual happy gleam. Cass didn't quite understand where this had come from, but didn't offer any response to his statement.

"Do you remember how we first met?" He asked, turning his head to look at her from his position leaning against the wall. Cass smiled at the hazy memory due to booze she had been drinking all that day.

"I remember hitting on you, just a bit." Cass said, taking a quick drink to hide her warming cheeks.

"Well, it brightened my day a hell of a lot Cass." The Courier said, with a cheeky wink. Cass felt her cheeks warm even more, _where did this attitude come from? The alcohol?_ Cass thought to herself.

"Well, I blame the cheap booze you bought me." Cass told him taking off her hat and placing it on bed knob.

"I only had so many caps to spare, be thankful you got any at all." He told her, taking a seat next to her on the bed.

"Well, at least you're better off now mister…" Cass started, but then paused. She had never, in all her time travelling with him, got the Courier's real name.

"Deathclaw got your tongue?" The Courier joked. Cass turned and looked at him critically. How could she have gone through so much with basically a stranger?

He had gone with her to the wreckage of her caravan, had been with her when they investigated the other caravan attacks, and then had stopped her from going on a murderous rampage on the Van Graffs and Crimson Caravans, convincing her just to wait whilst he got evidence on their actions. She had only had to wait less than a day when he had turned up again, and had handed her two envelopes, both containing incriminating evidence against both companies. He had escorted her to the Mojave Outpost and from there; they had handed over the evidence, which made its way to the NCR. He had helped her conserve the memory of Cassidy Caravans, and she didn't even know his name.

"Hey Cass, still with me?" The Courier asked, tapping her on the shoulder, making her jump with a start.

"Huh? Yeah, yeah I am." Cass said, trying to think of a way of asking for his name. The Courier peered at her carefully, clearly trying to see if she was alright.

"What were you thinking of?" He asked cautiously. Taking another swig of Moonshine, Cass dived right in.

"What's your name?"

The Courier seemed taken aback from the question, leaning back against the wall by his bed.

"My name?" He asked her incredulously. It had been so long since someone had asked for his name, and he doubted anyone left alive actually knew it.

"Do you even have one?" Cass asked jokingly, trying to pick up the mood. She hoped she hadn't struck a nerve as she passed him the Moonshine which he swigged gratefully.

"A name? Yeah I have one; it's just been a long time." The Courier said looking at her curiously.

"Why do you want to know?" He asked. This took Cass by surprise, why did she want to know? Thankfully the Courier stopped her from answering.

"My name…it's Jonah, Jonah Carlisle." He said quietly, not taking his eyes off her, gauging her reaction.

_Jonah Carlisle, the name of the Courier_. Cass thought to herself before smiling at him.

"Nice name, it suits you." She said, patting him on his forearm, causing a smile Cass had never seen before appear on Jonah's face. This smile wasn't one of sarcasm, humour or even plain happiness. This one was of shyness.

"Thanks, haven't gone by that name for a while." Jonah said, not taking his eyes off her

"You don't have to thank me." Cass said quietly, not breaking eye contact. Cass couldn't help but stare into Jonah's eyes, and noticing the gold flecks in his brown iris. Cass felt herself beginning to lean forward when there was a crash as she dropped the bottle of moonshine, it shattering on the hard floor, and its contents spilling across the floor.

"Damn it!" Cass swore as she watched the moonshine create a puddle on the cold metal. She looked back to Jonah and found him smirking at her.

"What you grinning at?" Cass snapped, annoyed at the loss of her second favourite booze.

"Only you could get so angry about that." Jonah said gesturing towards the shattered jug.

"Oh yeah?!" Cass said, jumping to her feet, staggering slightly due the alcohol in her bloodstream. She walked over to the worktable and picked up Jonah's infamous Laser Rifle.

"What are you doing Cass?" Jonah asked, getting to his feet as well, but not staggering like Cass.

"How upset would you be if I broke this?" Cass asked, holding the rifle by one hand, and gesturing with it with her other hand.

"I wouldn't suggest it." Jonah said taking a few more steps towards Cass. Cass started playfully swinging the rifle in her hands.

"Oh? Is Jonah, the mighty Courier Six, worried I might break his toy?" Cass teased. Jonah grinned and stepped even closer so that only the Laser Rifle separated them.

"I'm more worried at the fact that if you do manage to break it, neither of us will live to tell the tale." Jonah explained the smirk from when he was sitting on the bed still on his face.

"Oh." Cass said, placing the rifle back onto the worktable, but when she turned back she saw that Jonah hadn't moved and that she could see the gold flecks in his eyes again.

"That was a good idea." Jonah said, taking a small step towards Cass. Cass noticed this, and thought to herself, _oh what the hell._

"You know what else is?" She said, also taking a step forward, so that they were separated by only a few inches of air.

"What?" Jonah said, his voice barely a whisper, and with that one syllable, sent shivers down Cass spine. To save herself from having to think of a witty reply, Cass pressed her lips against Jonah's. She half expected Jonah to push her off saying something along the lines of _"We can't do this", "What are you doing"_ or simply _"Get out!"_, what she didn't expect was one of Jonah's arms to wrap around her waist, and she felt his other hand run through her hair. She also didn't expect her own arms working as if on their own accord, snaking up Jonah's arms and clasping around his neck.

_Just go with it_ he brain, who was fighting against the booze in her blood to stay clear. So she did, by tightening her hands, and bringing Jonah even closer to her, and deepening the kiss. Cass felt herself fall on top of Jonah as they made it to his bed, and she couldn't help but have shivers go up her spine when Jonah ran his hands down Cass' sides. _Well can play that game_ Cass told herself as she un-knotted her hands from around his neck and ran them down his chest and stopped as she felt his hard-chiselled abs. _This is going to get interesting_ Cass thought as she made the kiss more passionate.

Cass woke several hours later, and it took her several moments to realise where she was and what had happened. In the blink of an eye she scanned her surroundings, not because she felt in danger, but because it had become almost second nature for her to do so. She saw that the broken jug of moonshine was still on the floor, but so were most of her clothes. And not only her clothes, but Jonah's as well. She also felt an arm draped across her side, and she knew immediately that it was Jonah's. Without thinking she was out of his bed, and already starting to pull on her trousers as she had done countless times in situations like this, when she stopped and looked at the man sleeping before her. Even as he slept, he was absolutely silent, his breathing barely audible to the untrained ear. Cass couldn't help but smile at last nights exploits, and then she frowned. Usually she would have already left the room, leaving an empty whiskey bottle as her calling card, so why wasn't she doing just that now. And then it hit her…hard.

"Ahh crap." Cass muttered under her breath when she realised how she felt towards the Couri…Jonah. With a sigh she unbuckled her trousers and then climbed back into bed next to Jonah.

"I thought you were going to leave." She heard him whisper in her ear.

"Shut up Jonah." She replied closing her eyes.

"Hmmm" Responded Jonah as he put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, and Cass couldn't help but feel at peace dozing next to the man she realised she loved.

**There we go, something nice to get me back into the way of things, I hope you guys and gals enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it, maybe if it gets enough attention, I'll think of turning it into a full length Fic. Feel free to like my page on Facebook "Maximus Artilius", and check out my other FanFics. **

**So leave a review please, and until next time.**

**PEACE OUT.**


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